Out of the marine’s for five years, World War II veteran and reserve Capt. Paul Hansen (Richard Carlson), a family man with kids is recalled to active duty. A communications specialist, Hansen is shocked to be given command of a company by his no-nonsense battalion boss Lt. Colonel Steve Corbett (Frank Lovejoy). A career marine, Corbett is determined to whip his band of raw recruits into hardened soldiers in just ten days, before they leave Camp Pendleton for Korea. Throughout training, he worries that Hansen will ‘play it safe’ because he’s older than most, and a dedicated family man. The other recruits include a seventeen-year-old private Jimmy McDermid (Russ Tamblyn) who hides his age, determined to serve, just like his brother who is currently in Korea, and tough veteran Sgt. Novak (Ned Young), the most skilled soldier in the battalion.
After ten days of intense training in the hills near Camp Pendleton, the battalion lands in the beach at Inchon and takes heavy fire. The once eager Jimmy is given a rude awakening, as we seeing him clearly scared and shivering beyond some rocks on the beach. War gets real in a hurry, when bullets are whizzing past your head and your buddies are being shot all around you.
The rest of the film essentially deals with the battalion’s attempt to fight their way toward the Changjin Reservoir, only to discover they’re heavily outnumbered by Red Chinese soldiers. Having taken heavy losses and suffering from frostbite, the men must fight their way back to join their own forces.
As one might expect from a war film shot in the early fifties, some of the traditional conventions are followed: The enemies are faceless, and in one scene, there’s a considerable amount of tension as the battalion is waiting for the enemy to approach over the snowy hills. Our troops are out of ammunition, only to have the sky’s clear and cargo planes fly over and make the necessary drop at the last possible moment.
To the film’s credit, they did show some of the war’s horrors. When McDermid, given permission to visit his older brother after a battle, is lead behind a building lined with body bags. Weeping, he slowly opens the bag, and though we never see his body, embraces the brother he so wanted to impress. It’s a truly emotional scene, and Jimmy’s sadness over his brother’s death stays with him for several scenes, it’s not quickly forgotten. And toward the end, as all the losses pile up, even the veteran officers show unguarded emotion.
The title Retreat, Hell was lifted from a remark credited to General Oliver P. Smith: “Retreat, Hell! We’re just advancing in another direction.” There’s little doubt the film has some elements of propaganda in it, but considering it was released in 1952, Retreat, Hell deserves credit for even broaching the subject of the emotional toll war can have on the American soldier.
Framed at 1.33:1, Olive Films 1080p transfer is not without some issues. Speckling is an issue throughout, and there are a few places where film degradation is obvious. Aside from that, contrast is quite good, and detail fairly strong. Some may be bothered by the speckling, but that’s the only major issue.
The DTS-HD Mono track is strictly standard fare. Don’t expect anything in the way of bass or depth, but dialogue and sound effects come through in a nice, straightforward manner.
No subtitles are available.
There are no special features.
